The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has sought the collaboration of stakeholders to surpass the N1.202 trillion revenue it collected in 2018.
The spokesman, Mr Joseph Attah in a statement at the weekend said the amount generated surpassed that of 2017 by N164.897 billion as the Service generated N1.038trn in 2017
Lauding stakeholders for their cooperation last year, Customs said: “We appreciate compliant stakeholders that have supported the Service in 2018 and call on all Nigerians and especially international trade actors to help make 2019 better for the nation.”
Commenting on the historic feat, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) said it was the result of dogged pursuit of what is right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group interests.
NCS said its reinvigorated anti-smuggling operations yielded 5,235 seizures with duty paid value (DPV) of N61.543bn. The seizures include arms, ammunitions, over 59 containers of Tramadol and other controlled drugs, and 320,709 bags of foreign rice.
Customs said although smuggling remains a challenge, its three layer security strategy continues to make smuggling unattractive to the would be smugglers.
It advised border communities reporting any smuggling activity to the nearest Customs formation, adding that, “Together we can protect our economy and security by joining hands to fight smuggling and ensure that appropriate customs duty is paid on every dutiable import.”
